Could Pittsburgh be the respite that launches Kentucky into NCAA Tournament?
PITTSBURGH – What if Pittsburgh turns out to be the thing that springboards Kentucky basketball to a strong performance in the NCAA Tournament this weekend?
After a jarring loss to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, everybody believed – and rightfully so – that Kentucky was doomed to play in Spokane, Washington, as the No. 4 seed. As the team was watching the selection show at John Calipari’s house, the coach even edged up on his seat expecting to see Kentucky’s name come in next.
Instead, UK was miraculously placed in Pittsburgh as the No. 3 seed, giving credence to Calipari’s long time complaint that the SEC Tournament championship means nothing to the committee. Auburn won three games in three days for the title, but UK’s lone win at Auburn during the season carried more weight.
It might seem a minor point in this age of incredible parity, but this has nothing to do with basketball. It’s about Calipari, maligned throughout much of the last four seasons, being able to escape it all.
Had UK been in Spokane, Calipari would have spent the press conferences answering on onslaught of questions about his team’s inability to play defense, the fact he refuses to start Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, and the recent ugly history of UK failures in March Madness.
But by being placed in Pittsburgh, the coach was able to put all of that aside for a moment as the local media queried him about growing up in the Steel City. It enabled the coach to laugh and joke and stroll memory lane about his beloved hometown of Pittsburgh. He talked glowingly about the blue-collar mindset of the city and the hard jobs his father worked, using lay-away to secure Christmas and going to Three Rivers Stadium for the Pirates’ home opener.
Who among us, especially the older we get, doesn’t love to remember the good ol’ days, even if they weren’t really all that spectacular? It’s an escape to a simpler time, a sloppy gulp from the fountain of youth. And it might very well be precisely what Calipari needed to ensure his team have fun this weekend.
That appeared to be the case during the open practice at PPG Paints Arena as Calipari mingled about. The players were smiling and laughing throughout the session, having distanced themselves light years from what happened in Nashville.
It was just basketball and hanging with friends, an attitude that would serve Kentucky very well as it opens play Thursday night against Oakland, a confident team with nothing to lose. The Cats would do well to match that attitude and this respite from the pressure levied on a blue blood might just be the perfect medicine.
Bill Self, John Calipari lead college basketball’s 20 highest-paid coaches
Three Hall of Fame coaches — John Calipari (Kentucky), Tom Izzo (Michigan State) and Bill Self (Kansas) — hold the highest total salaries for this season. The trio are all under lifetime contracts with their respective programs having won a combined four national championships. Other national championship winners Tony Bennett (Virginia), Scott Drew (Baylor) and Dan Hurley (UConn) rank among the top-20 highest-paid nationally for this season.
There expects to be movement on this list before the 2024-25 season as coaches reach new agreements on extensions and raises after the NCAA Tournament.
Jamie Dixon and TCU agreed to a contract extension in April 2022 that locks him in through the 2027-28 season. The eight-year coach of the Horned Frogs led his team back to the NCAA Tournament for the third-consecutive season in 2024. Dixon entered the NCAA Tournament with a 160-109 (.595) overall record at TCU, but has yet to post a single-season Big 12 record above .500. Dixon spent 13 seasons as the head coach at Pittsburgh before accepting the same position at his alma mater TCU in 2016. He has 15 combined trips to the NCAA Tournament with one Elite Eight appearance with Pittsburgh in 2009.
His annual compensation started at $3.9 million in the first year and increases $100,000 each season through the completion of the contract. Willard led the Terrapins to the NCAA Tournament last season, but finished below .500 during the 2023-24 campaign. He owns a 38-30 (.559) overall record in two seasons at Maryland. Willard spent 12 seasons as the head coach at Seton Hall (2010-2022) and three years at Iona (2007-2010) before taking over at Maryland. His has six trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Altman and the Ducks agreed to a one-year contract extension back in August 2022 that keeps him in Eugene through the 2027-28 season. Oregon was on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament this March, but clinched an automatic berth by winning the Pac-12 Tournament for the fourth time in 14 seasons under Altman. This is the Ducks’ eighth appearance in March Madness during his tenure. Oregon reached the Final Four once in 2017. Altman owns a 344-151 (.695) record with the Ducks prior to the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri matched its worst season in 57 years with an 8-24 (.250) overall record in 2023-24, going winless in 18 SEC games. It is just the second time the Tigers failed to win at least one conference matchup. Dennis Gates earned a contract extension with Missouri after leading the program to the second round of the NCAA Tournament during his first season in 2022-23. The deal runs through the 2028-29 season with a starting salary of $4 million and $100,000 annual increases. Gates is 33-33 (.500) overall in two seasons at Missouri.
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